1. Technical Field
The various embodiments described herein are related to wireless devices, and more particularly to an on-board diagnostic (OBD) device with wireless capability which may be used inside a vehicle.
2. Related Art
Since 1996, new cars sold in the United States have included an On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) port/connector which is designed to allow a standardize way to access a vehicle's diagnostic information. Various types of communication devices and gadgets have been designed or adapted to access vehicle's internal sensor data via the OBD port using either wired or wireless connections to the OBD port. These devices coupled to the OBD ports facilitate vehicle self-diagnostics and self-report capabilities. In addition to the convenience of easily understanding the root causes of vehicle's warning signals, such as a lit check-engine light, these devices can turn the routine diagnostic information into a resource to enable a wide range of useful applications. For example, the obtained diagnostic information can be turned into driving habit data to allow an insurance company to adjust a drive's insurance rate based on how a person drives. As another example, the obtained diagnostic information can be displayed in real-time to the driver and when coupled with the GPS data, allowing the driver to monitor and visualize the sophisticated performance parameters of the vehicle traveling in a particular route.
Conventionally, a user device, such as a diagnostic tool or a user's smartphone can be configured to communicate with the OBD port through a wireless connection, such as a cellular data connection (e.g., in the M2M solution), Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth™. However, each of the above wireless connection technologies is associated with high power consumption and high cost.